County voter rolls fluctuate ahead of '22 races
Oct. 26—While no upcoming elections are set for Cherokee County residents in November, area voter registration figures continue to fluctuate.
In January, Cherokee County had a total of 26,056 registered voters. The number has since decreased to 25,432 by the end of September. The Republican Party has increased its rolls this year, from 9,708 voters to 9,726 in the county. The numbers for Democrats have continued to decrease, dropping from 12,197 to 11,454. Independent voters have ticked up, going from 3,940 to 4,025; and Libertarian figures have increased from 211 to 227.
The change in voter number comes after 4,043 duplicate voter registrations and 110,973 inactive voter registrations were removed from the statewide rolls in April. It's a process the State Election Board is required to conduct every two years.
"Maintaining clean and updated voter rolls protects our democracy by making it far more difficult for someone to use outdated voter lists to attempt to commit fraud or disrupt our elections," State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said at the time.
After primary elections for school boards in February, for which general elections will be held in April, Oklahoma will have several state offices up for election in 2022. And three officials have switched parties prior to their race.
State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister recently announced her switch from the GOP to the Democratic Party to challenge Gov. Kevin Stitt. She joins Connie Johnson as the two Democrats to file for the election so far. Hofmeister's decision garnered much attention, and Oklahoma Education Association President Katherine Bishop said she will be one of several candidates invited for a OEA member-driven interview process.
"We have an interview process that we invite all of our gubernatorial candidates," she said. "Then that committee is the one that helps decide if there's a recommendation or not. So we have a process and we're looking forward to it."
No Republicans have filed for the governorship, yet. However, a former member of the Republican Party, Ervin Yen, renounced his political party last week and is running as an independent next year. Independent Paul Yay and Libertarian Natalie Bruno have also thrown their hat in the ring.
The state superintendent election has garnered three Republican candidates, one of whom has changed parties since his last run at the state seat. John Cox, formerly of the Democratic Party, will run for the position as a Republican, along with GOP members April Grace and Ryan Walters.
Several candidates have filed for U.S. Sen. James Lankford's seat, who has not submitted his paperwork but has already begun campaigning. Jason Bollinger is vying for the Democratic seat, while the Republican ticket has garnered Nathan Dahm, Joan Farr and Jackson Lahmeyer.
Oklahomans will elect five candidates to serve in the U.S House of Representatives next year. Democrat Adam Martin, for District 1; and Democrat Abby Broyles, for District 5, are the only two candidates to have filed so far.
Oklahoma's primary election is scheduled for June 28, 2022, with potential primary runoffs to be held Aug. 23, 2022. The general election will be held Nov. 8, 2022. The filing deadline for candidates is April 15, 2022.
In order to register, voters must be at least 18 years old or meet the age requirements to preregister. Anyone who is at least 17 and a half years old can pre-register to vote. Those who preregister cannot vote until they turn 18 and the application has been approved by their county election board. Applicants will be mailed a voter ID card upon approval of their registration. Applications received less than 25 days before an election, in which the applicant is eligible to vote, will be held and processed immediately following the election.
People can register to vote by visiting oklahoma.gov/elections, or by visiting the Cherokee County Election Board at 914 S. College Ave., which is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
